Posts Tagged ‘budget autonomy’

A morning roundup of news, opinion, and links from Washington City Paper and around the District. Send tips and ideas to citydesk@washingtoncitypaper.com.
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Five people were cited for pot possession in D.C. in the first week after the city's new marijuana decriminalization [...]

A Republican on the House Appropriations Committee is reportedly introducing an amendment to the District's appropriations bill that would block the city from implementing its recently adopted marijuana decriminalization law.
A spokeswoman for the committee says she can't confirm that an amendment will be introduced, but Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, a medical doctor, confirmed to a Roll Call reporter that he [...]

The federal Government Accountability Office issued a blow to D.C. today, issuing an opinion that the city's budget autonomy referendum has no legal standing.
The referendum, which District voters overwhelmingly approved last April, would amend the Home Rule Charter to allow the D.C. government to spend its own tax revenue without approval from Congress. The law [...]

A Nightmare at the Wilson Building: Mayor Vince Gray will be addressing congressional Republicans about his budget autonomy efforts on Halloween. +3
Conspiracy Theory: Chris Brown's uncle, who owns a barbershop in Southeast D.C., says his nephew was targeted and "knowing him, he didn't hit the guy." -4

A morning roundup of news, opinion, and links from Washington City Paper and around the District. Send tips and ideas to citydesk@washingtoncitypaper.com.

Sign up: To get District Line Daily—or any of our other email newsletters—sent straight to your mailbox, click here.
That's it, the shutdown's over. Everyone can go back to work now and read the latest [...]

When the D.C. Council and Mayor Vince Gray left their monthly breakfast on Sept. 24, they were unusually united on trying to keep D.C. open during the shutdown. Precisely how wasn’t clear—ideas included declaring every city employee essential or just staying open and challenging the Department of Justice to prosecute the mayor and Council. Watching [...]

As the shutdown dragged on, the mayor complained louder and louder: “We’re governed by the federal government’s action and unless the federal government authorizes it, D.C. workers are going to be in a bind.” Shuttered museums had local businesses worried about a drop in tourism. And Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton called it a “very special [...]

If the federal government shuts down next week, either the libraries will be closed and your trash won't get picked up for a week, or all local offices will be open and your elected leaders could be facing criminal charges for spending money without an appropriation from Congress.
Either way, you'll need a soundtrack. Listen to [...]

A morning roundup of news, opinion, and links from Washington City Paper and around the District. Send tips and ideas to citydesk@washingtoncitypaper.com.

Sign up: To get District Line Daily—or any of our other email newsletters—sent straight to your mailbox, click here.
A Washington Post investigation found that the D.C. government has auctioned off tax liens for decades, resulting [...]

The specific gripes Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank has against the District government, as detailed in this morning's column:

Taxicabs will soon all be painted red.
The signs on top of cab roofs that say "Call 911."
D.C. Councilmember Vincent Orange has been admonished for interfering with a health inspection of a campaign donor's allegedly rat-infested grocery store.
D.C. [...]

District voters approved an amendment to the city’s Home Rule Charter on Tuesday that could end the need for Congress and the White House to approve local budgets each year (unless the change is thrown out by the courts or by Congress, which is still possible). Which means the long-frustrating practice of federal lawmakers adopting [...]

President Barack Obama still supports budget autonomy for the District, even if he's not doing much about it.
In 2012, the administration inserted pro-autonomy language into its budget. That passage remains intact in the 2014 fiscal year budget, released just 13 days before the District's maybe-illegal referendum on the issue. While the passage below is in [...]

Summer In April: Average temperatures for this time of year are in the mid-70s. Which is why today's highs of near 90 degrees at area weather stations were notable, even if no records were set; when, after all, do you get a pleasant, humidity-free 90-degree day in D.C.? Yes, it's probably a sign of imminent [...]

Perhaps I'm a cynic, but I'm not convinced Darrell Issa's new bill to offer the District budget autonomy was made in good faith. The California Republican (who tried to micromanage D.C. government just a few weeks ago), has attached a clause to the bill that would prevent the D.C. from using its own tax dollars to [...]